Happy Beginnings
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma's sacrifice in the final battle doesn't just affect Gideon. Snow and David are now left with a 10-year-old Emma to raise. She's broken and guarded, can they help her pick up the pieces?


Hey everyone. I'm going to be honest, I don't really know where I'm going to take this story. This is honestly how I feel they should've written off Emma's character when JMO and Gosh decided to leave. I will say this, it's not anti-Hook by any means, but he won't be a part of it. I feel his reaction to all of this is pretty standard to what one's would be and isn't me at all trying to bash him. Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see happen.

* * *

Snow and David stood off to the side with Regina, Hook and Henry, watching Gideon and Emma sword fight. This was it. This was the "final battle". Both were holding their breath, watching Emma fight with all she had. She was truly a skilled swordswoman, something she had inherited from both sides of the family. This couldn't be the end of her, it wouldn't be. She would win this, just as she always did.

"No one needs to save me, I'm the savior," Emma said, as she held her sword's blade tightly against Gideon's. They continued to duel. "Fighting for the people I love. Ultimately, I am a hero, I am hope…" She managed to push Gideon away from her. "I am light! Light cannot destroy darkness, it can only create more light. I will not kill innocents!" Gideon ducked as she went from him again. "I will do what all saviors must, I will give hope!"

With a swift kick, the son of the Dark One fell to the ground, but he bounced right back up. There was no doubt that Emma and Gideon were alike in many ways. Tough, resilient and neither were going to give up in battle. Gideon went for Emma once again, but she ducked. Suddenly, she stopped and stood still. In the street light, Snow could see a look on her daughter's face. It wasn't one of defeat, but one of realization.

"No matter what the cost," she whispered.

With that, Emma dropped her sword to the ground. It fell with a clank and it quickened the heartbeat of everyone standing there. Snow wanted to run over there, to save her daughter, but David had a good grip on her. Emma had to have a plan, she always did. This wasn't the end, it couldn't be. Regina was doing the same with Henry.

Gideon looked from the sword back to Emma, his face filled with heartbreak. He wasn't a villain, he was just like her. A broken soul, someone who had grown up not with love, but abuse. This wasn't how he wanted the story to end either. He knew they both deserved better, a second chance. Yet, there they were. He had to kill her, there was no other choice and she was giving up.

"I'm sorry Emma," he whispered. "I was hoping you'd save us both."

A small smile went across Emma's face. She knew what was coming and she wished the same. She had failed so many people in her life and now Gideon was on that list. She wished she had done right by him, but in the end, Fiona had doomed them both to fail.

He reached forward and stuck the dagger into her stomach. Tears sprung to Snow's eyes and she clung to her husband, who's eyes were as wide as saucers. Light began to come from Emma's chest, like a firework show. She fell to the ground, it sputtering out.

Emma had been born as the light, the hope to save them all.

And in that moment, the savior took her final breath, in front of the same people she had taken her first.

There were no final words, no last I love you's. She was just…gone.

As soon as the light faded, Gideon seemed to disappear out of sight. Emma was laying on the road, her eyes shut. The family ran to her, Snow, David and Henry dropping to their knees by her side. Snow lifted her hand and felt for a pulse, the tears streaming down her face when she found none. It brought her back to the Enchanted Forest, doing the same with David when he had been stabbed by Regina's dark knights.

She had vowed from the moment she found out she was pregnant to protect her daughter. She would've done anything to do so. Now, she was gone. There was no going back this time. It wasn't a curse or magic, her daughter, her baby girl had been taken from her in a blink of an eye.

David's hand fell onto her back, shakily. He reached down, pushing Emma's hair out of her face. She looked like she was sleeping, but he knew better. He cradled the back of her head, just as he had over 30 years before when he carried her to the wardrobe.

"I love you, Emma," he whispered.

His lips brushed against her forehead and a familiar rainbow cloud overcame Emma. It was one that Snow and David were all too familiar with, one they had given to each other several times over the past few months with their own curse. However, this one was different. It turned into a cloud, completely enveloping Emma. When it disappeared, a smaller person was in her place.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Killian asked.

David felt as if he were going to pass out. He would recognize that face anywhere. It was something that had stuck with him over the years. The brief time he had been awake from the curse, when Snow had sprinkled the petals on the ground. It had opened a door to their shared love. People believed that it was only a year prior that they began to share a heart, but the truth was, they had started doing it 30 years before that. The day Emma was born was the day it all began.

She had the same blonde curls, the beautiful green eyes that she inherited from her mother. At that moment, she had the adorably confused look that David got from time to time.

This was Emma, their Emma. Looking just as she had when they opened the door in the forest.

"Emma," Snow breathed.

"Who are you?" The little girl asked.

Snow and David exchanged a look. She didn't know who they were. How were they supposed to explain any of it?

"It's late, let's just get you home," Snow said. She knew Neal was in his stroller a few feet away, sleeping through all of the mess that had occurred.

"Are you my new foster parents?"

David hesitated. "Let's…let's just go home."

Emma nodded. She found she was too tired to press any further. With David's help, she got to her feet. She was in the same outfit that the older her had been in, except it obviously fit her better. Snow turned to Regina, Zelena, Henry and Killian, all of who were silently in shock.

"It's late, we've been through a lot today," she whispered. "We can figure it all out in the morning. Now isn't the time to bother Rumple and Belle, they just lost their son."

Regina nodded in agreement, wrapping an arm around Henry. "Come on, sweetheart."

Henry looked behind at Emma with a heartbroken look. Slowly, though, he followed his mother and aunt away. Killian stared at the family, before heading off in a separate direction without a single word. David let out a deep breath and together, they made the short walk back to the loft. It was hard to keep their eyes off of Emma. They didn't understand exactly what was happening and were afraid of it being some kind of trap.

When they got back to the loft, Snow grabbed one of David's t-shirts. She knew it would be big on Emma at this size (heck, it would've made more of a dress with adult Emma anyway), but it would work as a nightgown. She lead Emma upstairs to her old room. It was just as she had left it, two beds for her and Henry. They never wanted them to think that the loft wasn't home.

Snow waited for Emma to change, before carefully tucking her into bed. Emma felt around behind the pillow and pulled out her baby blanket. Snow's heart stopped. Had adult Emma left that behind?

"You have my blanket," she whispered.

"I do," Snow didn't know what else to say. "I know this is all confusing, sweetheart, but I promise we'll explain everything tomorrow."

She kissed Emma's forehead and sat with her. It didn't take long for her to drift off to sleep. Carefully, she crept back down the stairs. David was lowering Neal into his crib. Once he was out, they sat down on the bed, not sure what to say to one another.

"This makes no sense," David finally spoke up. "I mean, I thought maybe true love's kiss would bring her back…but not like this."

"I know what you mean. There has to be some explanation."

"We can't even ask Rumple about this…I can't imagine the pain he's going through."

"I thought we were…in those few minutes." Snow's lip began to tremble. "Charming…we almost lost her. For good this time, there was no coming back from that. It wasn't a curse or a villain."

David wrapped an arm around her. "I know, but she's here. Just…not how we pictured." He stroked her cheek. "It's been a long day. Neal's only just sleeping through the night…we should probably try to get some rest ourselves."

Snow nodded and the two changed for bed, crawling under the covers. Their minds were still clouded with questions and what-ifs.

* * *

The next morning, Emma slept late. She didn't even wake when there was loud knocking at the door. Snow jolted up in bed and threw on her robe. Neal began fussing in his crib. David stood up, sliding his feet into some slippers and picking his son up. Snow opened the door, her husband not far behind. On the other side stood Regina, Rumple and Belle. Snow did a double take when she saw a baby in Belle's arms. She had only ever met Gideon as an adult, but the way Emma had described him…

"Is that…"

"Gideon." A smile spread across Belle's face. "We don't know how it happened. Rumple came to tell me that we had lost him and he…he just appeared."

"Regina tells us that Miss Swan has de-aged as well," Rumple said. "About how old is she?"

"10," David replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Do you remember that brief time the three of us were awake during the curse?" Rumple nodded. "That's how old she was when we found her."

"Come in," Snow lead Belle and the others inside. "Do you two need anything for him? We have some things leftover from when Neal was first born…"

"Rumple was surprisingly prepared, but thank you," Belle told her. "Where is Emma?"

"Upstairs, sleeping."

"From how she was acting last night, she doesn't seem to know what's going on," Regina said.

"She kept asking us if we were her new foster parents."

"Seems that she's truly back to being 10-years-old," Rumple mused. "She's not a 30-year-old in a child's body. She's a child again, just like Gideon."

"How is this possible?"

"Regina described how Miss Swan died. I believe when she did, she made a true sacrifice. She gave her life to save Gideon. It lead to both of them getting the second chance that they deserve," he explained. "Gideon was reverted to infancy, when he was taken from us."

"Shouldn't Emma be one too?" Regina asked. "She was separated from her parents at the same age as him."

"Ah, but that wasn't the last time that the Charming family's happiness was sacrifice," Rumple pointed out. "Think about it, 10 years into the curse, Snow and David could've gotten her back, but they didn't. They allowed her to break the curse as she was meant to."

Before they could say anything else, there was a knock on the open door.

"You morons really need to start shutting the door behind you," Regina mumbled as they all turned to see who it was.

Archie stood there, adjusting his glasses. Snow raised an eyebrow. "Archie, what's up? Did you, Geppetto and August make it back through okay?"

"We did, but um, well…" Archie shifted a bit. "It's August. We all went to bed after we returned from the Enchanted Forest last night. But this morning when we woke up…August…he's a child again. I tried both Regina and Rumple's houses, but Zelena said I'd find you all here. She told me what happened to Emma…" He trailed off when he saw the baby in Belle's arms. "And apparently Gideon too."

"So Emma's sacrifice…it extended to August as well," David pieced together.

"His happiness was sacrificed as well, as a child," Regina pointed out. "Geppetto put him through the wardrobe, told him to protect Emma. Look where it got him."

"So, all of them are just like this forever?" Belle asked, looking from her son to those in the tiny loft.

"They'll age again," Rumple said. "I did some research last night, when you wouldn't let me hold the baby." Belle blushed and ducked her head. "However, it'll be natural. We'll be able to raise Gideon, just as the Charmings and Geppetto will their children. I wanted to make sure no one could rob us of the chance of raising him again and it's permanent. There's no spell that could reverse this. A sacrifice is sacred."

Silence fell over the room once again. Snow looked up at her husband and he gripped her hand. They weren't sure how to take it all. They were getting their second chance to raise Emma, it was something they had dreamed of. Yet, as all magic did, it came with a price. She had a life, one she seemed happy in. She had a son, she had just gotten married. Snow believed that the day before had been Emma's happy beginning. Maybe it had been, just not in the way that they expected.

"Someone has to tell Henry," Snow whispered.

Regina bit her lip and nodded. "I will."

"What about Hook?" Archie asked. "Where is he?"

"He just walked away last night. Does he even care?"

"Someone needs to tell him. He and Emma may not have signed their marriage certificate, but they did just have a wedding yesterday."

"Can you do that for us?" David asked. "We have to figure out how to explain all of this to Emma."

"Of course." Archie nodded. "I better go back to Geppetto's and explain this all to him."

Archie left the loft, Rumple and Belle following behind him. They had their own happy beginning to get started. Regina looked over at her friends.

"I'll call you after I explain this to him."

David nodded. "Regina…you have to tell him that we still want him to be a part of this family. He always will be, no matter what happens. You too."

"I know." She gave them both a sad smile. "This is just going to be very hard for him." She slowly exited.

Snow let out a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair.

"How can I be so happy?" She asked, softly.

"There's nothing we can do to fix this," David said, placing Neal down with his toys. He put a hand on each of her arms, rubbing them soothingly. "This is what fate has decided was best for the three of them."

"With Gideon and August, they don't really have anything. But Emma…she just got married, she has a son, a whole life that's being erased."

"Maybe she'll be able to live an even greater one now. I feel terrible about Henry, but you heard Rumple. There's nothing that could change this. If there was, you know we would."

Snow drew in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. "This is really happening. Our daughter…we get to raise her, for real."

David smiled. "We really do." He pressed his forehead to hers, their lips connecting for a kiss. "How are we going to explain this to her?"

Emma woke up an hour later, stretching and yawning as she looked around her room. She walked to the edge of it, seeing the strange couple that had brought her home the night before downstairs. She slowly walked down the stairs, still clutching onto her baby blanket. She had outgrown dragging it around everywhere a few years prior, but she was scared. She didn't know any of these people.

Snow and David smiled upon seeing Emma. "Good morning sweetheart," Snow said. "Are you hungry?"

"What's going on?" She insisted.

David chuckled nervously. Even tiny Emma had the same attitude. "Come, sit down, we can explain everything."

Emma slowly settled down on the couch between the two strangers. They explained to her that they were her biological parents. Before she could get angry or question why they had abandoned her, they told her everything, the full story. They knew it was a long shot that she'd actually believe them, but they had to try. They didn't want to enter it with secrets. They told her about them being Snow White and her prince charming, that an evil queen had caused them to have to give her up. Luckily, they had a copy of the storybook to show her the stories.

They stopped at the curse actually being cast. They weren't sure if Henry wanted Emma to know about him being her son or that Emma could handle knowing that she had been an adult, de-aged. As David finished explaining that the curse had broken in Storybrooke, leading them to each other, they both looked at Emma.

"Emma?" Snow asked.

Emma didn't know what to say. She was 10-years-old, had long stopped believing in happily ever after and fairytales. She didn't even watch those types of movies. Yet, she had been lied to enough in her life. Around the age of 6, she had developed her lie detector. She was able to tell when people were being honest, these people were.

"You're telling the truth," she realized.

Snow smiled. "You believe us?"

"It's weird…I mean…I don't know," Emma shrugged. "But I've been lied to enough to know when people are being honest. You guys are."

"We never wanted to give you up, Emma, you have to know that," David repeated for what had to be tenth time that conversation. "The plan was…"

"For Snow to go through with me, I know," Emma interrupted. "You've already said that."

"We know all this is hard and weird, but we want to be a family now." He gestured from Snow, to himself, to Emma and then Neal (who was still playing with his toys). "All of us."

Emma bit her lip and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"It'll be weird…but I'll give it a shot."

She didn't believe that they were really going to keep her, they had a baby after all. In time, she figured she'd be moving on, but she enjoyed where they were.

Snow smiled. "Okay, then. How about some breakfast? We can go to the diner."

"I don't have any clothes," Emma pointed out.

Snow frowned. She was right, the outfit she had been wearing was dirty. She looked towards the door and saw something folded up on the table by it. She walked over and saw it was a blue flannel shirt and jeans, with a note that had Regina's perfect penmanship.

 _A gift. Figured you'd be too busy to go shopping.-Regina_

She smiled, she'd have to thank her eventually. Snow carried the outfit over. "Looks like Regina left you a present."

Emma nodded and headed into the bathroom. Snow gathered the leather jacket, beanie and shoes she had been wearing the night before, those were wearable. She knew she'd have to go to the store at some point. When Emma was ready, the four of them headed to the diner. Emma was surprised when David took hold of her hand as they crossed the street. No one had ever cared about her like that.

When they reached the diner, Snow saw Killian standing outside of it. He spotted the family and stayed frozen in his spot. She walked over to him.

"I'm assuming Archie spoke with you," she said.

"Yes," Killian's voice barely came out. "He said there's no fixing this."

"No."

"And we're not legally married."

"She is 10-years-old now."

"Still…yesterday." He bit his lip. "Yesterday things were different."

"Killian, I can assure you that we understand how badly you're hurting…"

"I think it's time I get the hell out of this place."

Snow raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Crazy shit keeps happening. I went through less in Neverland. What they say is true, a pirate is better off alone." He looked behind her at Emma. "I don't think she loved me anyway."

"Killian…"

The truth was, Snow didn't know what to say to that. She had always wanted Emma to be happy, it was why she supported the wedding in the first place. However, she wasn't sure what the rush was behind it all. Maybe she thought that she had to give Killian his happy ending, as the savior. She wasn't sure.

"I've already loaded up the Jolly. Not long ago, Nemo and Liam offered me a spot on their voyage, I'll be with them. Goodbye, Snow."

Without another word, he walked away. Snow let a deep breath and walked back over to her family. They entered the diner together and felt all eyes go on them. Word had gotten around about the savior de-aging. Emma shifted uncomfortably and clung to David's hand. He slowly rubbed her back and they were seated by Granny, who kept looking between them four of them.

Emma looked over at her little brother. "What's his name?"

Snow realized that in all the craziness, they hadn't introduced them. They had mentioned that she was a little brother in the story, but that was it. Neal had been so calm, almost as if he knew it was Emma. "This is Neal. Neal this is…"

"Emmy," Neal declared with a smile as David seated him in his high chair. "My Emmy."

Emma smiled a bit at her brother. Snow and David had no clue how he could figure out who she was, but figured it was a family thing. Before Emma could look over the menu, the door to the diner opened. They turned around and found Henry standing there. David got up, figuring he should be the one to handle it. He walked over to him, leading him outside.

"Hey bud," he said. "Did your mom tell you?"

"There has to be a way," Henry said. "There just has to be."

"Rumple said he checked."

"Is he only saying that because he doesn't want to change Gideon?"

"Come on, Henry. Even if he wouldn't reverse Gideon, I think he knows that Emma and August would want to be turned back. He wouldn't do that to them."

Henry's lips quivered. "It…it isn't fair. I can't lose her."

"She's right here." But he knew what Henry meant. His and Emma's relationship wasn't going to be the same anymore. "I know it'll be different, but you two can develop a relationship. A new one. You'll always be family, a part of ours…"

"I just…I need some time," Henry whispered. "To think."

Before David could say anything else, Henry turned on his heel and walked away. David let out a long sigh and leaned against the building. This was going to take a lot of time. Their family was changing, that much was certain.

However, he also knew that nothing could rip them apart. Henry would come around in time. Emma would adapt to them. Maybe in time, they could find their new normal.

In the moment, though, he couldn't get rid of the bittersweet feeling in the pit of his stomach.


End file.
